


I'll take what's left of you

by Thighz



Series: OW Tumblr Shorts [4]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst With A Happyish Ending, Explicit Language, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Or?, Pining, mentioned dismemberment, mentioned gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 01:04:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20165584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thighz/pseuds/Thighz
Summary: Gabriel visited the one Angela called ‘Jack’ every time he was at the watch point.





	I'll take what's left of you

**Author's Note:**

> Another story from the depths of the tumblr purge.
> 
> This was written based off artwork by Orenjimaru and the Cyborg 76 skin.
> 
> _Enjoy_

Gabriel visited the one Angela called ‘Jack’ every time he was at the watchpoint. 

It had taken her weeks to relent and let him inside; she thought his intentions were malicious, but that was to be expected. A cancer was growing inside of Overwatch, and it was Gabriel’s job to snuff it out. 

However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t at the top of the list in ‘persons of interest’. 

The first time he visited was for a routine check-up and the large, bubbling tube of green liquid caught his eye from the exam room. He had migrated to it like a bug to a light, booted footsteps heavy against Angela’s tile floor.

‘ _ Jack _ ’ was a sight to behold. 

He was missing all four limbs, hastily sewn stumps in their place. Tubes protruded from various parts of his body, pumping liquid or power, he wasn’t sure which. He never asked. 

His bone white hair was shorn to the scalp, face littered with scars, eyes always closed. The monitor next to his tank beeps steadily, heart rate always perfect, brain waves, however, fluctuate.

Some days, Angela would be seated at her desk with her head in her hands and Gabriel would think, ‘ _ Is today the day? Did he die? _ ’

It’s been six months. 

Gabriel likes to prop himself and his shotguns up against the tube, head back and eyes closed. Part of him is sure Jack can’t hear him, but he still spins his tales. Regales the unconscious man with his latest Blackwatch mission, tells him about Jesse, Ana, Rein. So many people are joining Overwatch’s cause.

Jack never responds, of course. 

Angela pauses in the doorway sometimes, a cup of strong coffee in hand and watching him with an open sort of curiosity. 

He never pays her any mind, just continues to talk and talk.

“Would you like to know who he is?” she asks him one day, squatting in front of where Gabriel’s seated.

He’s cleaning his shotgun and lost in the sounds of Jack’s tank.

He peers up at her slowly, eyes dark, “You want to tell me  _ now? _ ”

She takes a calculating sip of coffee, blue eyes flashing up to Jack, “You seem infatuated. Would you like to know about the man you clear your evening schedule for?”

Gabriel balks at the word ‘ _ infatuated _ ’. You can’t be infatuated with an inanimate object, with something that doesn’t  _ speak, or hear, or smell- _

“Yes,” he finds himself saying instead.

“He was a soldier during the Omnic Crisis.” she began, eyes remaining on Jack, “Front line, just a soldier doing his job or so-.” she pauses, tilts her head, “His commanding officer thought. He was in fact, part of the Soldier Enhancement Program, codename: Soldier 76.” She points to the blue and white tattoo on his right pectoral.

Gabriel always wondered what that meant.

“He saved a lot of people on a retrieval mission. Citizens trapped by Omnics, out of twenty people, citizens and the tactical team, he saved fourteen. But at great cost to himself. He was mutilated when his comrades brought him back to camp. I was on the scene. I thought he was  _ dead. _ ” 

“I was sure he was dead, no legs, arms covered in blood, barely breathing. A  _ building _ had fallen on him and according to the team, he’d taken his own legs off. I couldn’t salvage his arms either, with how long they’d been trapped in that building. You see,  _ he _ dropped the building on them. It was the only way to separate the hostages from the omnics and it worked.” 

She lets out a bitter laugh, “He had no dog tags on him, his team didn’t even know his  _ name _ -.”

“So why ‘Jack’?” Gabriel asks quietly.

She smiles, “He reminds me of a boy I once knew.”

Gabriel drops an arm over a bent knee, “Lotta holes in that story.”

“Oh, we are aware.” She murmurs, “But no one wanted anything to do with it. It was too messy, they wrote him off as a lost soldier. What good is a soldier without the use of his limbs?”

“But you haven’t given up on him.” Gabriel lifts his chin.

“Neither have you.” She pushes herself back to her feet, “Coffee?”

He shakes his head, then tips it to the side to stare up at the man in the tank. 

Jack looks peaceful enough, “What are you planning to do with him?”

“Without him being conscious, nothing.” She shrugs.

“I can tell when you’re lying Ang.” Gabriel sneers up at her, and she returns it with a smirk and another sip of coffee.

“I might have something for him if he wakes.” She bows her head, “I’ll leave you for the evening.”

After she departs, Gabriel is alone with his thoughts again. The room is a steady hum of bubbling liquid and a strong heartbeat. 

He continues his story. 

  
  


\----

  
  


Mont hs drag on. 

Gabriel doesn’t stray from his strict schedule. Jesse is suspicious when he ducks out of meetings as quickly as possible, doesn’t come to his room until three in the morning. 

“You gotta sleep boss.” Jesse slaps him on the back with a frown. 

“I am sleeping.” Gabriel snorts. He shoves Jesse’s shoulder, “Go write your report.” 

Jesse waves at him, “Yea, yea.” He disappears around a corner.

Gabriel waits until he’s sure the younger man won’t back track before making his way to Angela’s laboratory. 

She’s at her desk when he arrives, typing fast and only giving him a slight tip of her head to assure him he can go back there.

Seeing Jack again after an entire week of drills is relaxing. He’s in the same spot, still floating, still silent. 

Gabriel sits in front of him, “I’m back.” He presses a hand to the cool glass of the tank, “Been a bit busy.” 

He explains that new recruits need a week of drill time and watchpoint integration. With a grin he says that he hopes Jack will wake up, and with Angela’s secret project, be able to join the ranks with him.

“May even be able to get you on my own squad.” He hums, “I’ll be commander soon.”

_ Maybe _ , he thinks bitterly. 

His hand balls into a fist, “I can’t stay long tonight.” God, how he wants to. If Angela would let him, he’d sleep near Jack’s tank, ever the vigilant guardian.

He already makes an imposing figure when Angela’s own department head finds his way in the laboratory the next night. He belts off in German about how Jack is a waste of their resources and that Angela should give up already. 

But, unbeknownst to the moron in a lab coat, Gabriel can speak four languages, German included.

Angela gets a kick out of Gabriel obviously putting his shotguns back together when the man starts to suggest cutting the life support off. Gabriel growls under his breath, watching the other doctor skirt past him nervously.

“If you have no proper proposal, he needs to be buried _ .” _ The doctor hisses once he steps around to use Angela as a human shield from Gabriel’s menacing shotguns. 

“Oh.” Angela crosses her arms over her chest, “Then you found his next of kin, did you? His mother? Father? A wife perhaps?”

Gabriel’s stomach clenches at that, jerks his gaze up to Jack’s visage.  _ Did _ Jack have a family out there? A wife? Kids? Maybe a golden retriever who loved to play fetch? Or was he like Gabriel, devoid of people outside the watchpoint, living in a room barren of personal items?

“You know he will have to remain anonymous.” The doctor snaps. “He was part of a government experimental program. It would bring bad publicity.”

“Can’t have that, can we?” Gabriel snorts, dropping his head back against the tank to peer at the older man.

“What is he even doing in here?” The doctor waves a condescending hand in Gabriel’s direction, “No unauthorized personnel.” 

Angela merely shrugs, “It’s my lab.”

\----

  
  
  


Genji Shimada is a new addition to the laboratory. 

The young man is in a tank across from Jack now, eighty percent of his body missing and Gabriel wants to know who the fuck could do this to another human being.

Angela’s soft whisper of ‘ _ His brother _ ’ is enraging, but what is even more so is that the higher ups want Angela to  _ accelerate _ Genji’s process. After almost a year of Jack floating stagnant in a tank, those cockroach money mongers from up high want Angela to fit Genji up with the right gear and have him battle ready in a month. 

They even offer extra  _ funding _ .

Gabriel sees red, shouting at her from where he stands in front of Jack’s tank and to where she holds firm in front of Genji’s. 

Her knuckles are white around the clipboard in her hand and she tells him that with Jack’s fluctuating brain waves, it’s too risky to spend money on a man who could be brain dead in a week.

“What makes this kid so goddamn special?” Gabriel snarls.

Angela’s chin stays raised, eyes steady, “He’s an important member of the Shimada clan. I have to follow orders Gabriel, same as you.”

It’s the end of the conversation, and Gabriel has half a mind to unplug Genji’s life support. Instead he turns back to Jack and drops his forehead to the tank and  _ apologizes.  _

“Soldiers always get left behind,” he croaks, “Forgotten. They put our names on plaques and monuments and  _ tell stories _ .” His fist clenches at his side, “And with time it all fades. It’s just  _ gone. _ ”

He doesn’t want Jack to be forgotten. 

Jack, who dropped a building on himself to save hostages. Jack, who probably had a sweet voice and a beautiful smile, and Gabriel wanted to know what color his eyes were. What did Jack do for fun? What would Jack’s laugh sound like? How did he fight in battle? Would his style compliment Gabriel’s?

All foolish daydreams in the end. 

He pushes away from the tank.

  
  


\----

  
  


“You’re too attached.” Angela’s voice is firm as she blocks him from entering the laboratory. “You need to leave.”

The door is closed. He can’t  _ see  _ Jack. 

What if she already-

The fear must show in his face because she sets a hand on his shoulder, “Go  _ sleep _ . He’s fine.”

“For how much longer?” Gabriel snarls, jerking out from under her touch, “How long until you decide he’s no longer worth it?”

“He can’t hear us,” She shakes her head, pleading, “He responds to  _ nothing _ . I can’t do anything else for him.” 

“ _ How long _ ?” Gabriel hisses.

She takes a deep breath, lets it out, “End of the week.” 

Gabriel puts his fist through the wall. 

  
  
  


\----

  
  


Gabriel has to fight tooth and nail to get Friday off. His commanding officer bears down on him, but Gabriel doesn’t back down.  _ Refuses _ to back down. 

Jesse vouches for him,  _ doesn't know what for, doesn't much care, just get yer head on straight, Gabe. _

Genji is sitting up on Angela’s medical table when he arrives. He’s mostly black tubes and stainless steel, his face scared to hell and back. He looks ruined, even in a new body. The only flesh Gabriel can see is his left arm. The fist clenches and unclenches on the edge of the table as he watches Gabriel enter the room. 

“Are you here to take me to my room?” Genji inquiries.

“No.” Gabe walks past him, heading for the laboratory. 

“Ah.” Genji mutters, “You are here for the soldier.”

Gabriel’s hand pauses at the door knob, “His name is Jack.” And slams the door shut behind him. 

He’s grateful that Angela granted him this private meeting before they come in to pull the plug. Gabe’s not sure why it has be a public fucking event, but here they are. 

He pauses in front of Jack’s tank, takes in the sight of him. He’s so goddamn  _ beautiful _ it makes Gabriel’s chest hurt. 

“This is it,” Gabriel says, watching the steady rise and fall of Jack’s chest. “Almost a year and they’re giving up on you.” A year where they could have been doing something other than  _ observing _ him like a fish. “Wish I knew you before this mess.” He swallows. “I bet you were a golden boy through and through. What with the saving fourteen fucking people by dropping a building on yourself.” A laugh bubbles out. “God, if we were friends, I’d probably rail you for that one. Stupid,  _ stupid _ .” He slams his fist against the tank, “Look where being a hero got you, Jack.” 

He stands there for almost an hour before the door creaks open behind him and Angela's soft scent wafts in. He uncurls his fist and presses his hand to the glass one last time, watches Jack’s face, “What am I supposed to do once you’re gone?” 

“You need to go.” Angela hisses, “I don’t want to watch them drag you-.”

“What is he doing in here?” The head doctor snarls, storming in through the door. “Get him out of here.” 

Gabriel slaps the security team’s hands away from his arms, “I know where the goddamn door is.” 

“Your Commander will hear about this.” The doctor states.

“I let him in here.” Angela says. “He just wanted to say goodbye.”

The doctor waves to the tank, “Goodbye to what? To a man who’s been dead a year?”

Gabriel whips around and the security guards hands grab onto his biceps, “If you had fucking  _ done  _ something instead of turning yakuza leaders into fucking robots then-”

The doctor gets in his face. Angela stands worried by Jack’s tank. “You don’t run this department, I do, and I decided the broken soldier wasn’t worth as much as someone who can take down the goddamn Japanese mob.”

_ Wasn’t worth- _

Gabriel slams his forehead into the doctor’s nose and the man lets out a yelp as it gushes blood. The hands at his biceps yank him back, “He gave his fucking life for your government’s shitty war!” He struggles against the grip, wants to take another swing at that pretentious fucking face, “Wasn’t worth it my ass!”

“Gabriel just go!” Angela insists, “You’re making it worse.”

Oh yea, like he  _ cares _ , “Jack!” He tries to pull away from the guards pulling him towards the door

“ _ Jack! _ ” 

“He can’t hear you, you complete  _ moron _ .” The doctor laughs, attempting to stem the nosebleed, “Is he for real?” He looks at Angela, “Does he  _ care _ about a corpse in a tank?” His laughter is disgusting and Gabriel’s stomach roils. “Do it now. I want him to  _ watch _ .”

Angela fumbles for words, twists around to the monitor. Her hands tremble over the keys, typing in the passwords. 

Jack’s vitals still flicker across the screen. 

Gabriel watches in horror as she shuts off each tube. The bubbles stop forming the tank, the heartbeat clips out next. 

He wants to  _ vomit _ . 

The last is the brainwave. Such a small, round net at Jack’s temples. The one thing that kept an entire organization filled to the brim with cash from  _ fixing- _

Angela presses the button and the room falls silent. 

“Get him out of my sight.” The doctor chuckles, waving at Gabe and the door. 

He lets them. His entire body gives up as the tank stands stoic and Jack’s chest has long since stopped rising with every breath. Angela meets his eyes across the room, her own are watery, a hand pressed against her mouth. 

A whole  _ year _ of one-sided conversations and coffee at two in the morning. Of listening to her tell him the same hole-ridden story of Soldier 76 until his eyes dropped closed. 

Jack’s name comes out weak, broken. 

Gabriel’s never been so attached to anyone in his life and part of him feels foolish. 

Because they’re right: Jack’s been dead a year. 

A  _ machine _ was keeping him alive. He’s willing to bet Jack wouldn’t have even wanted any of this. The tubes and the tank and Gabriel’s incessant rambling. 

He’s halfway out the door, guards talking between themselves when Angela lets out a startled yelp. 

Gabriel tries to twist around, to see back into the room, because if that doctor put his hands on her-

But no.

_ No. _

Jack’s body is writhing around in the tank. Tubes keeping him from getting anywhere, and one by one they snap away, until only the chain remains, holding him stagnant. 

“Drain the tank!” Another medic snaps, making a break for the hose behind the tank and yanks it clean away. 

The green liquid pools around the tank’s base; it smells of antibiotics and sour milk. Gabriel doesn’t care because Jack is  _ moving. _

“It’s just a spasm.” The doctor yanks the medic by the back of their lab coat, “Don’t touch the equipment.”

As soon as his face is out of the liquid, Jack inhales and chokes, struggling against his bonds.

Angela reaches for a button and the chain lowers just as the last vestiges of the tank’s liquid seeps onto the floor. 

Gabriel breaks away by stabbing the heel of his boot into the shin of the closest guard, who shouts and lets go. He slips a bit in the green sludge, but doesn’t care as he slides to his knees in front of Jack’s tank just as Angela finishes lowering him to the bottom. 

Jack lets out a hoarse groan, forehead dropping to the glass and chest heaving. The fight seems to go out of him. 

Gabriel swallows heavily, eyes on the Jack’s face. 

Anticipation curls low in his gut because Jack’s not going to know where he is, his entire body is  _ ruined _ -

Blue,  _ blue _ eyes open slowly and focus on Gabriel first. 

Jack blinks twice and smiles, and his voice is rough like gravel as he whispers, “Hello, Gabriel.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for the continued support, comments, and kudos!


End file.
